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What is the explanation for Ohio State QBs failing in the NFL

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madinsomniac

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This isnt a dig on Ohio state, nor is it indicative of Will Howard or his potential.
There are rumors that Stroud is on the outs in Houston.

Stroud is already the second most successful Ohio State QB in NFL history, trailing only Mike Tomczak, and his 16k yards.
He had a really great Rookie season, but advanced stats showed he had a lot of bad throws and was heavily propped up by a very good QB system. as the league adapted to him, he hasnt progressed and may have regressed a little. Now he is young... and he well could develop past his current problems eventually, but this once again restarts the question as to why Ohio State, which produces plenty of high end NFL WRs and OLs and even a few great RBs hasnt had any QBs worth a damn in the NFL.

I mean the list more or less is Tomczak, Stroud, Justin Fields, and Kent Graham... and Fields is in the midst of ending his career as a starter now.
Now Ohio state people point to Joe Burrow, who did attend Ohio state foe a few years, but he proves the point... that dude was a prototypical NFL QB, but he couldnt get the starting job at Ohio State, so he transferred out.

This has bugged me for years... its carried over through eras and numerous staffs. It has to be some issue pertaining to the quality of the oline and wrs stunting growth or maybe propping up qbs with the wrong mental traits for the NFL...

I mean the NFL is a totally different level than college, it isnt close... it could be that QBs that can throw to a stable of superb wrs vs outclassed college dbs dont have to make the precision throws or ultra fast reads and cant adjust in the NFL.... when Fields had his best success with the Steelers, they ran as simplified an offense as they could, but that isnt sustainable long term... so maybe Ohio state values physical tools over mental ones?

I dont know... what do you all think?
 
madinsomniac said:
This isnt a dig on Ohio state, nor is it indicative of Will Howard or his potential.
There are rumors that Stroud is on the outs in Houston.

Stroud is already the second most successful Ohio State QB in NFL history, trailing only Mike Tomczak, and his 16k yards.
He had a really great Rookie season, but advanced stats showed he had a lot of bad throws and was heavily propped up by a very good QB system. as the league adapted to him, he hasnt progressed and may have regressed a little. Now he is young... and he well could develop past his current problems eventually, but this once again restarts the question as to why Ohio State, which produces plenty of high end NFL WRs and OLs and even a few great RBs hasnt had any QBs worth a damn in the NFL.

I mean the list more or less is Tomczak, Stroud, Justin Fields, and Kent Graham... and Fields is in the midst of ending his career as a starter now.
Now Ohio state people point to Joe Burrow, who did attend Ohio state foe a few years, but he proves the point... that dude was a prototypical NFL QB, but he couldnt get the starting job at Ohio State, so he transferred out.

This has bugged me for years... its carried over through eras and numerous staffs. It has to be some issue pertaining to the quality of the oline and wrs stunting growth or maybe propping up qbs with the wrong mental traits for the NFL...

I mean the NFL is a totally different level than college, it isnt close... it could be that QBs that can throw to a stable of superb wrs vs outclassed college dbs dont have to make the precision throws or ultra fast reads and cant adjust in the NFL.... when Fields had his best success with the Steelers, they ran as simplified an offense as they could, but that isnt sustainable long term... so maybe Ohio state values physical tools over mental ones?

I dont know... what do you all think?
Click to expand...
Because when you play 10 of your 12 games against teams where you are better at every position, and not just marginally better with probably 3-4 of the best receivers in the country every year you can put up numbers. In the NFL, none of those conditions exist. I'd rather have a guy that had at least some adversity in college over the guy that put up video game numbers for 2-3 years.

Will Howard was pretty meh until he got to Ohio State. That one year was amazing and I doubt he has much success in the NFL.
 
From Jim Tressel into the Urban Meyer era and into the present Day <-- see what I did there :), Ohio State’s offenses were often tailored to win college games efficiently, not to be NFL training laboratories. Urban Meyer in particular leaned heavily on spread concepts built around RPOs, QB power, and quick screens, which can inflate stats without demanding full‑field, progression‑based reading every down. This allowed someone like Dwayne Haskins to post 50 passing touchdowns in one season without necessarily proving he could consistently manage an NFL‑style offense. When those QBs get to the NFL, they face more under‑center work, more complex protections, and defenses that disguise coverages far better than most college opponents, so there’s an adjustment gap. And this isn't just an Ohio State thing; I've pointed out here many times that modern QB's transitioning into the NFL struggle for years and often past their rookie contracts. Sam Darnold is a textbook example of this. Drafted third overall to the Jets, labeled a bust, goes to Carolina for two seasons and then, he goes to the QB factory of the 49'ers and low and behold, he takes the Vikes to the playoffs the next season. He then heads to Seattle and wins a SB. It took him 5 seasons to make the transition into the NFL with the help the 49'ers coaching, 6 to make the playoffs as a starter, and 7 to win it all.
 
Sarge said:
Because when you play 10 of your 12 games against teams where you are better at every position, and not just marginally better with probably 3-4 of the best receivers in the country every year you can put up numbers. In the NFL, none of those conditions exist. I'd rather have a guy that had at least some adversity in college over the guy that put up video game numbers for 2-3 years.

Will Howard was pretty meh until he got to Ohio State. That one year was amazing and I doubt he has much success in the NFL.
Click to expand...
Kind of like Mason Rudolph at Oklahoma State pitching bombs like it was nothing..and it was a lot of the time against bad Big 12 cornerback play. Gets to the NFL and we see what he really is. Finding a franchise QB is a crap shoot. Doesn't matter how much analytics and how sophisticated they are that they use...still a guessing game where having the ability to recognize intangibles on film and going with your gut are just as valuable as stats.
 
It is not an Ohio State issue, it is a D1 football issue. Too many coaches are total control freaks and have figured out that at the D1 level you can read a defense from the sideline and tell the QB where to go with the ball before the snap. Watch the big posters the back-up QB's hold up telling the QB where to go with the ball. We have taken reading a defense away from QB's and wonder why they fail in the NFL. Combine that with the trend for running QB's, 5'8" QB's, and wonder why that won't work in the NFL.
 
Black & Gold Bleeder said:
I guess same question could be asked about Penn State. Or Alabama. I know Joe namath,,, but ..


Oh and dont forget Dwayne Haskins.
Click to expand...

Correct - most QBs fail in the NFL. Ohio State only started producing NFL style QBs since Day came on board, Tress and Urb wanted running backs to run the read option.

There are only 26 QBs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
 
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Sarge said:
Will Howard was pretty meh until he got to Ohio State. That one year was amazing and I doubt he has much success in the NFL.
Click to expand...

His last year at Kansas St, he threw for 2643 yards, 24 TD, 10 INT in 12 games.

Before the playoff at Ohio St, he threw for 2860 yards, 27 TD, 8 INT in his first 12 games.

He had an amazing playoff, but reg season was pretty much the same guy as the year before, just with a better supporting cast.
 
They were always run heavy and had run first QBs. The passers they did have like Hoying and Germane were game manager types without NFL upside. Terrell Pryor may have made it in today's NFL that has embraced some RPO stuff, but like Kordell, he just sputtered in an NFL that wanted pocket passers.

Fields was the first real NFL prospect, followed by Stroud. Fields has been crushed by horrible coaching in the NFL. His short stint with the steelers was the only stable coaching he got and he showed promise. Ryan Day's offense has more pro concepts but I think what holds the QBs back is having so much talent around them. They rarely had to go past read 1.

Stroud is slow to process. When his #1 isn't open, he makes mistakes. He misses Nico Collins when he's injured. Tank Dell was a crutch for his early. he got open quickly and gave Stroud lots of easy throws. Stroud struggles when he has to go to plan B. He did have OC switches which hasn't helped.
 
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